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Saucy bites of chicken are tossed with crispy tender bok choy and a diced jalapeno in this flavorful Chicken and Bok Choy Stir Fry.
Stir Fry Chicken and Bok Choy
When I saw this recipe in an issue of Everyday Food, I immediately added Bok Choy to my grocery list.
This was a hit with every member of the family. It’s amazing how a great sauce will make even my pickier eaters devour every bite on their plates.
There is almost no heat from the jalapeno in this recipe, it simply adds another layer of flavor to the dish. Feel free to increase the amount of jalapeno to your heart’s desire.
I often increase the jalapeno because my family enjoys spicy dishes and a bit of heat is a terrific addition to this recipe.
Bok choy is a mild slightly sweet Chinese cabbage. The soft green leaves and flavorful crunchy stems add a delicious texture and color to this dish.
Bok Choy and Chicken Stir Fry
Stir fries come together fairly quickly over medium-high heat in one skillet. With that being the case, I recommend prepping all of the ingredients before turning on the stove.
Prepare the sauce by whisking together the soy sauce, vinegar, and brown sugar. Set the sauce aside, next to the store.
Cut the chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces and toss them with the garlic, ginger, and cornstarch. Chop the bok choy and jalapeno so they are ready to add to the skillet.
Saute the chicken mixture in a large skillet. Cook it until lightly browned and the chicken is just barely cooked through. It does not need to be completely cooked as it will continue cooking as other ingredients get added.
The ginger and garlic will be super fragrant at this point and your kitchen will smell amazing.
Add the bok choy and jalapeno to the pan. Let them cook for about a minute.
The leaves of the bok choy will wilt and soften, but the stems will retain a slightly firm crispness, bringing a nice texture to the stir fry.
Pour in the soy sauce mixture and stir to coat the chicken and bok choy.
Over medium-high heat cook for a couple more minutes until the sauce has thickened and everything is nicely coated.
Stir Fry with Bok Choy and Chicken
Gather these ingredients to make Bok Choy and Chicken:
- boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts
- cornstarch
- bok choy
- jalapenos
- olive oil
- fresh ginger
- garlic cloves
- soy sauce
- rice vinegar
- brown sugar
If you’ve hung out with me for long, you already know how much I love a good stir-fry. From the Chicken and Bacon Stir Fry to Thai Steak and Green Bean Stir Fry, to Ginger Chicken and Broccoli and the classic Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry there are a whole lot of great stir fries you need to try.
Sweet and Spicy Pineapple Shrimp Stir Fry is a skillet full of sautéed shrimp tossed in a spicy barbecue sauce with sweet chunks of pineapple and red peppers.
Sweet and just a little bit spicy, this honey sriracha chicken stir fry is filled with bite-size sticky sweet chunks of chicken and tender-crisp peppers. The whole recipe comes together in under 20 minutes.
Chicken and Bok Choy Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts diced into ½" pieces
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 6 cups thinly sliced bok choy about 1 head
- 1-2 jalapenos seeded and minced, about 2-4 tablespoons
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger finely minced or sliced into very thin matchsticks
- 2 large garlic cloves minced
Sauce Ingredients
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, vinegar and brown sugar. Set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the chicken with the garlic, ginger, and cornstarch. Stir or toss to coat.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, warm the oil and add the chicken mixture. Toss to coat and spread the pieces across the bottom of the skillet. Sear the pieces and turn as needed. Cook, stirring occasionally until lightly browned and barely cooked through, about 6-7 minutes.
- Add the bok choy and jalapeno and continue cooking, tossing with tongs or stirring constantly for about a minute, just until the bok choy is wilted. Add the soy sauce mixture and toss well to coat. Cook for about 2 minutes, just until the sauce thickens. Serve over rice if desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
{originally published 5/26/12 – recipe notes and photos updated 3/2/23}
recipe adapted from and with thanks to Everyday Food
Mary, the flavor was great and the the ease of prep exceptional but i used a wok and had alot of the coating sticking to the wok, too much imo; any thoughts ?
It can depend on the seasoning of the pan and sometimes heat levels can affect that as well. Sorry I don’t have an exact answer for why it happening this time, Mark. I’m glad you enjoyed the stir fry!
I had the same issue however I added chicken broth which lifted the stickiness while providing additional liquid and it turned out great.
This was delicious! I cook a lot of stir fry’s and usually use thighs but had some breasts to use up. I added julienned carrots, red capsicum and sprinkled spring onions, roasted peanuts and coriander on top, served with rice. Cooked it in a wok with no problems. Lovely fresh taste which I attributed to the vinegar. Will definitely make again, thank you.
That all sounds delicious! I’m glad you enjoyed the stir fry.
The sauce is not the best….. at all.
okay then. Good thing we all get to adjust to our own tastes. Sorry this wasn’t to yours. Did you follow the recipe exactly as written?
Super good! Great flavor. I bought a pre cut small container of jalapeños that apparently was more than the 1-2 jalapeños the recipe called for so it was a little too spicy for me. My husband loved it, though. But, me putting in too much jalapeño was my mistake so oh well. Oh yeah, and I didn’t remove the seeds so it was HOT! Haha. The only thing we had to do was put a little more cornstarch in after we poured the sauce in to help it thicken. Perhaps, not enough cornstarch got on the chicken in the beginning so that may have been our mistake, as well. We bought some packaged Asian noodles that we heated in the microwave and then threw them in the dish which worked really amazingly in this dish. Thanks for the recipe! We will be making this again!
That is wonderful to hear! Hopefully next time it will be the right spice level without the seeds. Fingers crossed!
Loved it. Flavor was very good. I did a little variation to use up my veggies in the fridge. However…I doubled the sauce and added about three times the amount of vegetables. I took what I had left in my fridge vegetable bins. I added a sweet onion, a half a red onion, eight mini sweet peppers 8 ounces of baby Bella‘s and about 2 cups of broccoli. In the beginning it did stick to my wok but I added about a half cup of low salt chicken broth along the sides and just easily scraped it off. I don’t think it affected the taste of the sauce because it was still delish
I’m so glad that you like the stir fry so much!